1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotatable label system for use with different types of containers, for example pharmaceutical containers, which enables relatively more information to be provided to the consumer about the product, configured in such a way that the rotatable feature is easily recognized by consumers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There is an ever increasing trend to increase the amount of information provided on labels for various containers. This is particularly true for containers which contain pharmaceutical products and various health food products. For example, U.S. Pat. No. D311,423 discloses a dual faced container label. The dual faced container label disclosed in the ""423 patent is adapted to the disposed on a generally cylindrical container and configured in a way so that the main product information is viewable on diametrically opposite portions of the container. Unfortunately, the amount of information that can be placed on such a label is limited to the outside surface area of the label. As such, dual sided labels have been developed which contain product information on both sides of the label. There are several problems with such dual sided labels. First, such labels can only be used with products that are generally transparent. Moreover, depending upon the properties of the product within the container, the product information may be somewhat difficult to read thus discouraging consumers from reading the product information on the inside portion of the label.
In order solve these problems. Rotatable label systems have been developed. An example of the rotatable label system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,884,421. The ""421 patent discloses a rotatable label system which includes an inner shell, fixed to the container, and a rotatable outer shell. The rotatable outer shell is provided with a viewing window and is generally configured to have a slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the inner shell. Such a label system is substantially the same size and shape of the container itself and thus has the same form factor as the container. The inner shell is provided with opposing radial rims which serve to limit axial movement of the outer shell with respect to the inner shell. The outer shell is provided with a viewing window for viewing product information which can be printed on the entire outer circumference of the inner shell. In addition, such a system lends itself to printing product information on the outer shell as well.
In operation, consumers simply read the product information through the viewing window and twist the outer shell to review additional information. Although such a rotatable label system enables substantially more product information to be placed on the label than fixed label systems, it is believed that many consumers do not realize that the label system is rotatable due to the form factor of a label system, substantially conforming to the form factor of the container itself. Thus, there is a need for providing a rotatable label system for providing relatively more information about the product than fixed label systems that also enables consumers to easily recognize that the label system is rotatable.
Briefly, the present invention relates to a rotatable label system. The label system includes a label which provides a surface for product information about its entire circumference. The rotatable label system also includes a package with a viewing window. The package is secured to the container but allows access to the container and also allows the container to freely rotate relative to the package. An important aspect of the invention is that the package is configured with a different form factor than the container itself In particular, the package in configured with an interstice adjacent the viewing window. The interstice allows consumers to view contiguous portions of the label on the container that are not aligned with the viewing window. As such, consumers are able to easily recognize that the label system is rotatable.